SPO2/FIO2 RATIO AND TRIAGE SCORE IN PREDICTING OUTCOME OF CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN

Abstract

Introduction: Non-invasive nature of pulse oximetry allows much affordable, rapid assessment of degree of hypoxemia and helps in identication of the patients at risk. Mortality in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) depends on the severity of illness. A good scoring system for identifying the severity of illness can help to prioritize care. Triage is sorting out of patients, the main objective of which is early patient assessment to obviate harmful delay in the management. Aims And Objectives: To predict the outcome of critically ill children in pediatric ICU by using the Triage scoring system and Spo2/Fio2(SF) ratio. Materials And Methods: A hospital based prospective observational study done at Navodaya Medical College Hospital & Research Centre during January 2020 to June 2021 for a period of 18 months. A total of 125 children were studied. Data is described in terms of mean (+SD), frequencies (number of cases) and percentages. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 26. Results: Out of 125 children studied, 8 died. Except temperature, all other variables showed signicant association with mortality (p <0.001). Mortality was 0%, 4.88%, 28.57%, 75%, 25% and 50% for scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Children of score 3 or more had signicant high mortality. Among the 113 subjects who survived, mean SpO2/FiO2 ratio is 340 and among 12 subjects who died, SpO2/FiO2 ratio is 184. SpO2/FiO2 ratio is less among the children who died and can predict mortality. Conclusions: Many deaths in under ve children occurring in hospitals can be prevented if triage is followed, if any sick children are identied soon on their arrival and treatment is started immediately. SpO2/FiO2 ratio is a non-invasive and reliable tool for hypoxemia screening and predicting outcome among patients admitted to the ED.